We are wanting to remember Orla after our first year without her and felt a great way to do this was run the Leeds half marathon and fundraise in her name.

Orla River's Story

Orla was born on Friday 14th August 2015 at 08:54pm and weighed 8lb 6oz. During her birth she sustained a severe brain injury resulting in a dianosis of severe Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy. During her life she had further diagnosis' of Quad Cerebal Palsy, Epilepsy, visual impairment, unsafe swallow/tube fed. But none of these stopped her amazing quality of life!

As a family with a severely disabled child, we spent alot of time in and out of hospital (Leeds General Infirmary), where we were treated like family! A BIG thank you to all of the CAT unit and Ward 9! However, we also managed to have an amazing time being a family! We visited Santa's grotto's at Christmas, took her on regular trips to tropical world and the farm, had an fabulous dedication in May 2016 filled with fun, flowers and cake, enrolled onto some sensory baby classes (these classes were her absolute fav!), celebrated her first birthday in Filey as a family and visited the sealife centre (Orla and her dad both wanted to bring the turtle home!), Had a birthday party at home in our bungalow, Plenty of family time with both sets of grandparents and her aunties and uncles and lots of play time with her cousins, we even went on a trip to see Blackpool Illuminations with her cousins! Orla had the best possible quality of life even with all of her medical complexities. HIE didn't stop our Golden Princess from living her best life!

On March 18th our gorgeous Orla River grew her angel wings. She was at home with her mummy and daddy doing what she loved most… Sleeping! There will not be a day that goes by that we won’t think of her and how much joy she brought us. We were so lucky to be her mummy and daddy and she will forever be in our hearts.

We knew from birth that Orla had a limited life expectancy but we wanted to enjoy every second of every day with her. Martin House supported us along the way with respite trips and activities. We even had a little holiday there! (Pictured Above "in the secret garden") Another charity that is close to our hearts is Leeds Mencap. Orla attended their developmental play room for a few months and thoroughly enjoyed herself. The team there were amazing! That is why we want to raise funds for these two amazing charities to keep doing the brilliant work that they do. Other funds raised will go towards covering funeral costs and keeping Orla's memory alive.

Orla touched the lives of so many people and made everybody that she met smile. We want to say a big thank you to everyone for donating and continuing to support us in our bereavement.

Luke and Ben are aiming to run the whole of the Leeds Half Marathon In Orla's Name on May 13th 2018. Why not pop along and encourage them from the sidelines! Feel free to make posters and banners and wear brightly coloured clothing! Everyone knows Orla's favourite colour was Yellow so the more yellow the better!

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